Last Hero Standing #4

Background

Loki's malicious plan to destroy the heroes of MC2 has been put in motion,
pitting the heroes against their own. Sides have been taken and a battle has
broken out between the heroes previously kidnapped by Loki and those that were
unaffected.

Story Details

The issue starts out in downtown New York, with Stinger coming between the two
groups of heroes to mediate. She tells them there's no reason to fight, and
Spider-Man disagrees, stating that Darkdevil belongs behind bars and commenting
on the Hulk's menace. Loki watches from the sidelines in his astral form,
content with the results of his manipulations. The Hulk leaves, saying that
something is wrong here and that he knows "just the guy to puzzle it out." Loki
watches on and follows. Meanwhile, upon the Hulk's exit, Spider-Man suggests
they make a list of potential menaces like the Hulk and take them out. Others
affected by Loki's magic agree, while Stinger is shocked at the mention of a
blacklist.

Spider-Girl gets the drop on two trolls in Asgard, and Nova, J2, and Wild Thing
join in the fray. As Captain America goes to retrieve his mighty shield, he is
attacked from behind a by a troll. Thunderstrike takes the troll down, and
Spider-Girl offers a hand to a fallen Cap. He politely declines, but admits
that his ribs might be broken. Thunderstrike advises him to take it easy, while
J2 discovers a offshore. Thunderstrike points to their next destination...Asgard.

At the Avengers' compound, the heroes discuss their lapses in memory since the
kidnapping. The heroes affected by Loki's magic deny being angrier and more
aggressive since being captured. Doc Magus recalls the events leading to his
capture and comes to the conclusion that his kidnapper was Dr. Strange.
Meanwhile, at Strange's sanctuary, the doctor is attacked by Loki, who seeks to
incapacitate the sorcerer before he can be revealed as the culprit behind the
abductions. Strange is knocked out by Loki's magic, and at that moment, the
Hulk busts in. Seeing the unconscious sorcerer on the floor, Hulk threatens
Loki, who in turn casts his spell of...um...badness onto the green goliath.

Arguing all the way, the rest of the heroes make their way to Dr. Strange's,
only to be attacked by the Hulk upon arrival. The Hulk tears through the heroes
with ease, taking out Freebooter and Darkdevil before dismantling Mainframe.
Stinger suggests they evacuate the civilians out of the area, but Wolverine and
Spider-Man disagree, saying if they don't have the sense to run, they aren't
contributing to the gene pool. Meanwhile, the Vision and Doc Magus look after
the spellbound Dr. Strange, who wonders why Doc Magus can't see through Loki's
magicks.

Back in Asgard, as our heroes walk through the streets, Captain America
announces that he needs to rest, and that he'll catch up later. Nova callously
informs him that he's leaving him there, and Spider-Girl comments on Nova's bad
attitude. Thunderstrike assures Cap that he'll get medical attention, and Thor
promptly lands on the scene. The thunder god greets his former teammate, and
Cap informs him of the situation with Loki.

The Hulk, on the other hand, continues to beat the crap out of our heroes in
NYC, taking out Bluestreak, Argo and Scarlet Witch easily. He then pounds on
Wolverine, and grabs Spider-Man by the bionic leg to swing him around like a rag
doll. Mary Jane watches her husband get pummeled on the news, and I'm sure
that's pretty upsetting.

An Asgardian known as the Vizier tends to Captain America's wounds and informs
him that his warrior days are behind him. Cap puts his chainmail on over his
bandages, thanks the Vizier for his advice, but tells him that he has a duty to
complete his mission.

The Hulk continues his rampage as he takes out Cyclops. The Vision tries to
stop the Hulk by solidifying his hands inside the Hulk's chest, but the Hulk
simply breaks them off inside him. The Thing attacks, but gets his bionic arm
ripped off by the Hulk. Stinger wonders if they're going to have to kill the
Hulk to stop him. Our heroes in Asgard watch the battle from a mystic pool and,
as Thor swears to stop the Hulk, Captain America wonders who among them will
survive the upcoming battle.

General Comments

Well, DeFalco, you've completely lost me. This entire issue consists of a huge
super hero battle that, quite frankly, doesn't pique my interest. So the Hulk's
on a rampage-again. Heroes fighting heroes over a misunderstanding-for what I
believe to be literally the gazillionth time in comic book history. And over
the course of the issue, we go from a super hero battle in Times Square to...a
super hero battle in front of Dr. Strange's house? They could have saved the
paper from this issue and just gone directly to issue five.

Captain America's weakness in battle is a disappointing subplot, as nothing has
changed from the beginning of the series. Captain America can no longer cut it
in battle, and we've seen this coming the entire time. With only one issue left
in the story, it's not hard to tell where Cap is going to end up at the
conclusion of the series.

Overall Rating

One web, because there's only one issue left, and at least THAT makes me happy.